Upholstery installation



y 1935. c. L. HALL 2,009,615

UPHOLSTERY INSTALLATION Filed April 24, 1953 "n.1,", v, ,.,,.n.\ 'IIIIIIIIIIIII'II wlllllrlllllllllllllllla 'IAIIII' Inventor.- CharleslnHall Patented July 30, 1935 UNl'lED STATES UPHOLSTEBY ms'rma'rion Charles L. Hall, minimum, assignor to United- Oarrl-astene'r Corporation, Cambridge, Mm, aoorporation of Massachusetts Application April 24, 19:3, Serial No. 661,589

3 Claims. (c1. 45-138) is located, they are substantially flush with that My invention aims to provide improvements in upholstery installations.

In the drawing which illustrates preferred embodiments of my invention:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a-portion of'an upholstery panel and fastener embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on-the line 2-2 of Figure 1 and also includes a portion of the frame structure;

Fig.3 is a plan view of the parts shown in Figure 1 showing the manner in which the fastener stud is attached to the fastener-carrying member when the base has a keyhole slot instead of a lo uniform slot;

Fig. i isa section taken on the line 4-4 of Fi 3; a

Fig. 5 is an end view of the fastener shown in Figure v 20 Fig. 6 is a section showing a modified construction of fastener stud and attaching member; and Fig. '7 is a plan viewof the structure illustrated in Fig. 6.

Theinstallations illustrated by the annexed 25 drawing are particularly useful in connection with the application of upholstery panels to frame structures. The. particular installation illustrated'by Figs. 1 through 5 includes a thin metallic frame structure I, a relatively stiff backing 30 of cardboard or the like 2, a snap fastener stud 3,

a stud-attaching member l and a flexible covering material 5. The attaching member is formed from a single piece of-sheet metal and has a plate portion 8. secured against that face of theback- 35 ing 2 covered by the flexible covering material 5 by means of attaching prongs I, as best illustrated in Fig. 2. From the center of the plate portion 8 I have formeda tubular projection 8 having a flange 8 at the free end thereof providing a head. The projection 8 is contracted in any suitable manner adjacent to where it joins the plate portion 6 so that there is substantially no hole through the plate portion tfl In the particular structure illustrated the attaching member is applied to the form of cardboard 2. by counter-.- sinking it flush with the face -of the cardboard during the attaching operation. The attaching prongs 1 preferably extend from the periphery of the plate portion 6, upwardly, outwardly and downwardly in the form 2 so that they are embedded between the two surfaces, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4. While the prongs may be slightly exposed (Fig. 1) at" that side of the card- 55 board 2 opposite the side where the plate portion surface. The projection I extends through an aperture it in the cardboard 2 so that the head to the base and divided by a slit i3 (Fig. 5) to form independently movable projections I4 preferably offset so that they may pass each other in \m a scissors-like action. The slit lS-intersects the slot l2 so that when the projections "-44 move toward and away from each other the yielding action may occur in the base. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the outer edges of the projections ll- -ll diverge upwardly from the base II for a portion of the length of the socket-engaging means and .then converge to provide'f'o'r snap fastening engagement with .the frame structure l when pushed through or pulled out of the stud-receiving aperture I (Fig. 2) in the frame structure I. when the parts of the installation are being assembled the aperture III is flrst formed in the cardboard form 2, then the attaching member 4 is secured in position. Thereafter the flexible covering material- 5 is placed over that sideof the cardboard 2 at which the attaching member I is located so as to conceal the attaching memher. Since the plate portion is substantially flush with the surface of the cardboard, the covering material 5 lies smoothly in position and is supported throughout substantially the'entire surface. In this manner the panels may be made up 40 complete at any time with any desired number of fastener-attaching members and the fastener members may be attached at any future time. Attachment of the fastener member .3 (Figs. 1

and2) may be easily and quickly accomplished,

lies a portion of the base. II and prevents removal of the fastener byan axial movement.

The fastener is held in a given position relative (i5 to the backing 2-by friction between the face of the backing and the flange 9. The fastener may be shifted laterally in any direction to a certain extent thereby permitting proper alignment of the projections l4-l4 with the stud-receiving aperture l5 and the frame structure I.

In the fastener illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 the slot I2 is of the keyhole type and, therefore, the stud member 3 may be easily and quickly attached by approaching the base ll toward the head 9 of the attaching member, as illustrated in- Fig. 3, and then sliding the fastener laterally to a position the same as shown in Fig. 1, so that the flange 9 overlies a portion of the base-H. The fastener is held in a given position relative to the backing 2 by friction between the face of the backing and the flange 9 but may be shifted laterally in any direction to a certain extent without moving the enlarged portion of the slot l2 to a position directly underneath the head 9. Furthermore, the base ll of the fastener stud shown in Figs. 3 and 4 is arched so that it may yield to adjust itself to installations of various thicknesses. Assuming that the same attaching member is used with diiferent thicknesses of cardboard 2, the space between the underside of the head 9 and the face of the backing 2 will dilfer. This difference is compensated for by the arched base. When attached the head 9 of the attaching member fits into a depression H thereby preventing the fastener from shifting to removable position. The fastener shown in Figs. 1 and 2 also may have an arched base if desirable.

The attaching member shown in Figs. 3 and 4 also differs from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 inasmuch as it is in the form of a hollow tack driven through the cardboard 2 and having its sharp pointed end upset into a head 9. Thus I have shown two types of attaching members, viz., one where it is necessary to punch a hole in the cardboard and one where the shank is sharp pointed and punches its own hole.

The installation illustrated by Figs. 6 and 7 is broadly like that already described. However, the details of construction of the attaching member, the fastener member and the assembly are somewhat different.

The attaching member has a cup-shaped portion l5 fitting into a hole IS in the backing 2 and a flange l'l engages one face of the cardboard form 2, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6. The central portion of the bottom of the cup-shaped portion I5 is pressed out to provide a projection 18 having a head I9 and the attaching member isheld in position by an attaching element 2!) bearing against the opposite side of the cardboard form 2 from that side at which the flange I1 is located. The attaching element has a small rivet portion 2| extending therefrom into the projection l8 and has its end upset within the head IQ of the attaching member securely to hold the parts in position.

The snap fastener stud used in connection with the installation illustrated by Figs. 6 and 7 is of the so-called hook-on type and has a hookshaped base (Fig. 6) with a slot 22 in the lower portion of the base. Aside from'the fact that the attaching slot 22 is in the lower portion of the base, and the actual difference in the shape of the base, the fastener is the same in construction and operation as that illustrated and described in connection with Figs. 1 through 5. The free end of the lower portion of the base of the stud is curved toward the upper portion and then downwardly again so that there is somelower portions.

what of a snap action between the projection l8 of the attaching member and the hook-shaped base during attachment of and detachment from the attaching member.

The hook-shaped base of the stud member illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 may be easily attached to the projection l8 by tipping the stud into the cup-shaped portion 15 in such a manner that the head I9 of the projection l8 enters the hook-shaped base between the upper and.

Then, as the stud is moved laterally into position, the smaller portion of the projection I 8 enters the slot 22 and the fastener is moved into a position shown in Fig. .6. The fastener is free to rotate and shift laterally so that the socket-engaging portion may be aligned .with an aperture in a frame structure to which the upholstery part is to be attached.

My invention as illustrated and described is simple, relatively inexpensive, durable and compact- ,The attaching members may be easily and quickly secured in place on the cardboard backing either by hand or by automatic machine. The fastener members may be easily and quickly attached and readily adjust themselves for entrance into the socket members provided by the part to be covered by the upholstery. The upholstery part of the installation is reduced to a minimum thickness and the attaching members are so constructed and arranged that they do not interfere with smooth adhesive attachment of the flexible covering material, nor do they present any holes of a size which would cause noticeable depressions in the covering material when adhesively applied.

While I have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of my invention, I do not wish to be limited thereby, because the scope of my invention is best defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. An upholstery installation comprising, in combination, a frame structure presenting a studreceiving aperture, an upholstery covering for said frame structure including a relatively stiff form, an attaching member rigidly secured to said form and having a headed fastener-receiving projection, a neck on the projection below the head, a snap fastener stud having a base portion laterally shiftably engaged with the projection of the attaching member and having a slot therein constructed and arranged to cooperate with the head and neck of said projection to permit easy attachment and detachment of the fastener stud relative to the attaching member and to permit lateral shifting, and yieldable socket-engaging means extending from said base into the studreceiving aperture to hold the upholstery covering to the frame, said base being arched longitudinally' adjacent to the slot cooperating with the head and neck of the attaching'member for the purposes described.

2. An upholstery installation comprising, in combination, a frame structure presenting a studreceiving aperture, an upholstery covering for said frame structure including a relatively stiff form, an attaching member rigidly secured to said form and having a headed fastener-receiving projection, a snap fastener stud having a base por tion laterally shiftably engaged with the projection of the attaching member and having a slot therein constructed and arranged to permit easy attachment and detachment of the fastener stud relative to the attaching member and to permit lateral shifting, and socket-engaging means comprising a pair ofmovable projections divided by a slit extending to the slot in the base and beingmovable due to the resiliency of the base, said socket-engaging means extending into the studreceiving aperture and holding the upholstery covering to the frame.

3. An upholstery installation comprising, in combination, a frame structure presenting a studreceiving aperture, an upholstery covering for said frame structure including a relatively stiff form, an attaching member having a plate portion located at one side of said form, a plurality of attaching prongs extending from said plate portion into engagement with the form, a hollow projection formed from said plate portion and extending through an aperture in said form, a snap fastener stud laterally shiftably attached to said projection at that side of the form opposite the side where the plate portion of the attaching member is located and engaging the stud-receiving aperture and holding the upholstery covering to the frame, a flexible covering material extending over that face of the form where the plate portion of the attaching member is located to conceal the same and said hollow projection being substantially closed adjacent to where it joins the plate portion so that the plate portion may present a substantially continuous surface to the flexible covering material.

CHARLES L. HALL. 

